Rough Running BX

[ultrarunner]

I discovered a pinhole leak in a rubber fuel line giving me problems... it would idle ok... at speed it would stop due to lack of fuel.

 

[V1Rotate]

My 03 bx2200 has just started to cut out for a brief second every know and then , it just turned 700 hrs , after reading this I replaced the fuel filters again, still does it , so I pulled the tank figuring the sending unit was rusted , it looks brand new !? (I have always run off road fuel with the white bottle of power service additive), nothing in the tank at all , anyone have any thoughts on the gas cap or safety switchs , the tractors kept in a garage and only wet when washed maybe once a year , and very well maintained , Craig.

My BX was doing the same thing.
I think there might have been some dust or dirt in the seat safety switch, I lifted the seat and worked the switch plunger in and out a whole bunch of times with my fingers. This either cleaned up the switch or just by coincidence the tractor ran normal after that.

 

[PeterK]

2nd on cleaning the switch. My PTO lever gets dirty and I have to jiggle it once in a while to stop contact due to sticking.

 

[edzakory]

I'm having the exact same problems as the OP stated in his first post on my BX2660, i.e., engine nearly dies then rpm all over the place. This occurs after the engine runs fine for various periods of time. I also changed both fuel filters, and the air filter to no avail.

It appears others are having this problem as well. I purchased my BX2660 last year (Aug 2012) with 89 hours; it was three years old. The problem began occurring at nearly 100 hours.

I'm reluctant to take out the fuel tank and check the sender since I live in a dry climate (AZ) and did not notice any rust particles in the old fuel filters. I do believe the problem is fuel related but do not think the fuel stream is clogged enough to cause the kind of erratic engine operation as previously stated.

For those that have had this problem, please post your symptoms and solution. For other that have diesel engine experience, I would appreciate your comments as well. Due to the erratic behavior, this appears to be a tough problem to pinpoint.

 

[radioman]

take the easy way out -- unhook the hose from first filter and note flow into a bucket with cap on .plug line with finger. have a helper remove fuel cap and hand you the air hose. before you try blow air back into the tank, note flow with cap off. same? blow short air burst into the line. now note flow. does any of this help? let me know.

 

[North West Farmer]

edzakory,

This thread is basically three years old, unless I figured the dates wrong.

Initially in the early days of the thread it appeared that a major problem likely involved the fuel sender switch that seemed to have severe corrosion problems, almost universally to all of the units with that particular switch. Back in 2011 it appeared something needed to be done to make the sending units out of different materials to put a stop to the massive corrosion production found on many if not most or all of the sending units of that time.

Here in the last posts made in September of 2013 the only solution I noticed was to work over the seat safety switch on a members tractor. At this time it leads me to be suspect of safety lock out switches in general being subject to failure or at least creating a poor connection due to dirt accumulation in the switch, corrosion, wear or possibly just bad quality switches that may be responsible for bad circuit connections. In the newer tractors there are safety lock out switches all over the tractors and this could lead to significant numbers of potential electrical problems.

Due to the age of the thread the problems today may be very different than the causes found three years ago. At the end of the thread here in 2013 the only person that mentioned finding a solution to his poor running problems was V1 Rotate, when he cycled his seat safety switch manually through numerous cycles, after which his machine no longer had problems. We don't know exactly what was corrected by that action, but it apparently improved the contact in the switch and he was back in business.

Depending on what type of equipment you have and what conditions you have been operating in, as well as your preventative maintenance program, the old problems seemed to be related to sending unit corrosion, the problems Vi Rotate experienced indicate a good place to check would be you machines safety lock out switches.

Both of those areas have been identified as possible solutions to the intermittent poor running problems. Of course, there are many more possibilities, but these specific areas have yielded solutions in the past and my be places to begin a search for a solution.

Issues like this can drive a guy nuts, so good luck in correcting your specific problem. I hope my comments might have been of some assistance. It was all I could really identify based on looking back over the thread for possible solutions.

Nick, North West Farmer

 

[edzakory]

Radioman & NW Farmer,

Thanks for your replies.

I tried the seat switch correction but due to the sporadic nature of the problem, it may take a while to determine if the problem manifests itself again. It is enlightening to find out it may be an erratic electrical connection issue since the engine does not die out completely.

Fuel was flowing out of the first (under tractor belly) filter when I changed it. However, I did not use compressed air to blowback into the tank. I may give that I try once I give the electrical seat switch fix some time to determine if that solved the problem.

I did notice the engine began running smooth again when I filled the tank. I added about 4 gallons of fuel once the problem arose again yesterday. I do not use the tractor much which adds to the dilemma of pinpointing the problem.

I added to this tread rather than staring a new one for two reasons: the OPs post matched the age and model (BX) of my tractor and I felt that solutions posted under one thread may help others view all the various fixes.

Kind of makes me the miss the old 1947 Ford 8N I once owned.

 

[North West Farmer]

edzakory,

I think you were all right in posting in this thread, even though it was somewhat aged. The people that had made replies here are folks that are usually familiar with this problem and as in my case when your post came in I received a notification that someone had posted regarding this issue so I came back to see if any solutions had been found and to check out thread entries to attempt to identify any commonalities that may lead to a solution.

In the past I have gone back to old threads, researched the replies and in so doing have located solutions to an issue I have been dealing with here on the home place. Unfortunately in this case I only identified two items that may help you in clearing this up.

I do think Radioman's suggestion is a very good thing to to attempt. The results of the air blow back test might be very helpful for you.

Good luck in working this our. No additional ideas came to me so I will be standing by following the thread to see what develops.

Nick, North West Farmer

 

[V1Rotate]

Just as a follow up.
After working the seat safety switch (which may have cleaned off the contacts) over a year ago, my BX has been running perfectly.

 

[North West Farmer]

V1 Rotate,

With the results you experienced it appears that many members suffering the erratic running problems could possibly resolve their situation by checking and working over their safety switches where ever they might be located and possibly consider replacing them with new switches if simple cleaning or operating the switches through multiple cycles does not solve their problem as it did in your case.

I have experienced failure or the safety lock out switch's several times over the years and ended up replacing them. Definitely sounds like a very good place to start if they experience ongoing running problems as described by a number of our members. Your new post makes me feel very strongly these switches should be one of the first items to be checked carefully so they can be eliminated as a possible cause.

I might try bypassing the switch for a very short period of time to make certain it is not the problem. For safety sake, the switch should be taken out of operation for the shortest possible time. It is there to prevent potential serious injury to the operator so taking it out of the circuit should be done only for testing purposes and then put back in operation as soon as your test is complete. I always consider safety to be most important. Operating any longer than needed without the safety override switch in place is definitely not recommended.

Good luck for all of you that are dealing with the erratic running issue and by all means be safe out there.

Nick, North West Farmer